The league will have exclusive referees in its stable.
As the new UAAP basketball season approaches, all eyes will be on the players and coaches.
But the league is also looking to field in “competent, fresh, and fit” referees to improve the competition, which kicks off on September 30 at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
New UAAP commissioner Xavier Nunag also stressed the need to have exclusive referees officiating the men’s, women’s, and juniors basketball this season.
“We have to have competent referees. At the same time, even if you have the best, tao rin sila, napapagod. They have their own schedule and everything,” Nunag said in Wednesday’s episode of The Game.
“Once the exclusivity comes in, their priority is the UAAP, we get not only competent, but fresh and fit referees.”
Nunag, who leads the Commissioner's Office with Mariana Lopa and Marvin Bienvenida, also bared that the UAAP's referees have been training for over a month now, and are expected to be fit in time for the much-awaited tournament.
“I think we have [competent and fit referees] that now. It remains to be seen, we haven’t played nay games but we’ve been training for a month and a half already and those three attributes are our main focus when it comes to officiating,” he said.
Apart from that, these same referees will have report cards. That way, the officials will have something to reflect on every game.
“May report card sila every game,” Nunag said.
Officiating is one of the toughest jobs in the world. More often than not, referees find themselves on the receiving end of hate and vitriol from players, coaches, and fans.
While it’s tough to have everyone on the same page when it comes to calls, what the UAAP is doing now is certainly a step towards the right direction.
(MDB)